England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Watton at Stone St Andrew & St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Watton at Stone lies in central Hertfordshire about 4 miles north of the county town of Hertford. Watton at Stone sits on the former route of the A602 road which connects Ware with the new town of Stevenage and grew up on the western banks of the River Beane at the point where that road makes its crossing; today the A602 bypasses to the northeast leaving the large village much more peaceful. Today Watton at Stone, in common with many Hertfordshire villages, has grown notably with the spread of commuter developments for nearby towns and the capital; the arrival of the railway line and the development of a station with regular services into London's Moorgate station helped swell the population. At the time of this transcript Watton at Stone would have been a rural, farming community practicing a mixed farming regime on the clay-rich soils. The Beane drains the parish southwards joining the Lea on its way to reach the Thames Estuary through east London and thence the North Sea. Watton at Stone is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside, local heights rise to around 120 metres once out of the valley of the Beane. Watton at Stone parish was fairly typically sized for the area, it covered around 3,500 acres and would have supported a population of about 900 parishioners. In Domesday times Watton at Stone was split between 4 separate landholders, Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury together with Count Alan of Brittany and one Alward all holding shares in a large and prosperous community; in total the parish could boast 15 ploughs, meadows & woodland and an impressive 4 mills.

The Church

St Andrew & St Mary's church sits at the extreme south of the village just to the west of the former route of the A602 & its crossing of the Beane, reached, appropriately enough, by the narrow Church Lane. The church is almost totally built in the Perpendicular style and probably represents a single build through the 15th century, The rather florid design making much use of embattlements and the skyline broken by both a tower stair turret and also a rood stair equivalent. The interior shows a four-bay arcade with late-Perpendicular piers perhaps into the 16th century. A later addition, of 1851, is the northern chapel which does at least maintain the style of the rest of the building. Church Lane is narrow & winding but on passing the church a small field is made available for parking. The church sits in a hedged site with a gravel pathway leading to the dominant tower entrance. The church is perhaps a little hemmed in from the south but there are still adequate angles for photography.